


Lullaby 2

by mannana



Series: Lullaby Series [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 19:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2240172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mannana/pseuds/mannana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick realizes just how much he misses Beth</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lullaby 2

The song Daryl had sung to Judith was stuck in Rick’s head for a week. The gravelly tone to Daryl’s voice and the soft beautiful sound of Beth’s mixed in his mind causing a hell of a duet. It made him chuckle a little if he thought too long on the idea.

But the sound brought back all the memories of Beth caring for his little girl. Little Judith bundled in Beth’s arms while she paced the walk-ways while she would sing that song, over and over until the baby fell asleep.

 _“She always falls asleep for this song...”_ Beth had told him with a proud beaming smile one night after Judith had been particularly crabby. And by the end of that night he was sure everyone in the prison knew the song by heart.  

The memory made him smile.

But back at the prison Beth was just Beth. Hershel’s daughter. Care taker for Judith. And Rick hated to admit he’d completely taken her for granted. He wished more than anything he could amend that. Tell her all the things he didn’t notice before. Tell her how much Judith loved her. Hell, how much _he_ loved her.

He stopped his thoughts there. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, dwell on the surge of electricity his heart felt when he’d thought of loving Beth. It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t the gut wrenching, make your heart skip a beat love that he was sure Daryl was feeling.

But even so, months later, her absence was painfully clear and it hit him every time Judith cried and every time he looked in Daryl’s eyes.

The ache was stronger in Rick’s chest tonight, more so than previous nights and even more than one in particular, the night he heard Daryl singing.

It had been there all this time, fraying a little more every time he thought about it. But then he caught a flash of blonde hair from somewhere behind the tree line and it seemed to pulsate throughout his chest and into his veins.

Now, he knew it wasn't real, he’d had plenty of experience with seeing things, so he understood this was nothing more than a hallucination. And he smiled to himself, wondering why he’d be seeing Beth instead of Lori.

And that’s when he realized how much he truly missed Beth Greene.

He really fucking missed her.

He missed the bright blue eyed woman who lit up any room she entered. He missed the softness of her voice even when she was being stubborn and arguing with him. He missed the way she looked at his daughter and treated her as her own. And even if he had ignored them before, he missed the lingering touches and innocent looks she’d thrown his way. (He acknowledged to himself then that Beth may have had a bit of a crush on him.)

He wondered how hard this all had been for Daryl. He had spent a long time alone with the woman. He could only imagine what affect she would have on his hardened heart. And the past few weeks it’d become painfully obvious. Daryl’s eyes gave him away more than he’d ever know.

Rick hummed to his daughter, who was restless in his arms again.

“You miss Beth, don’t you honey?” He whispered. She just whined in response. “I do too baby girl…I do too. But we’ll find her. I promise. You ain’t losing another mom….”


End file.
